Embodiments of the present invention relate to the removal of contaminants from a lubrication and/or hydraulic system, and more particularly to a convertible filtration container which can be easily adapted for bag-type and cartridge filters for the removal of said contaminants.
The use of different types of filters to remove contaminants from a variety of liquids, including lubricants and hydraulic fluids, is known in the art. For instance, bag-type filters may generally be used for simple filtration operations. Typically, a fluid is introduced to the bag-type filter medium through an external source. The fluid travels through the filter and then out of the filter and, generally, out of the filtration system. In the process, contaminants, such as particulate matter and other waste products, may be left behind in the filter. Accordingly, the bag-type filter may be removed from the filtration system after use and disposed of or cleaned for reuse.
Bag-type filters may comprise a variety of materials, such as polypropylene, polyester, nylon and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Additionally, these filters may provide different levels of filtration, dependent upon the types of weave used to generate the filtration mesh. In some applications, bag-type filters may be made to be disposable. A disposable bag-type filter may need to be disposed of when it has captured enough particulate matter to become obstructed or otherwise less effective.
Different types of cartridge filters are also known in the art. For instance, cartridge filters may be designed to be disposable upon a single use or multiple uses. Alternatively, cartridge filters may be reusable and thus may require cleaning after one or more uses. Cartridge filters may be manufactured in many different shapes and sizes but are generally cylindrical in shape to fit a variety of filtration canisters in which they are housed. A cartridge filter may be configured to include a central hollow cavity while the surrounding peripheral material may comprise one or more porous filtration media, such as polyester felt with granular activated carbon, steel mesh, pleated polypropylene and the like. Filtration using a cartridge filter may typically involve a fluid flowing through the porous media of the filter and into the central hollow cavity of the cartridge filter. Any contaminants may be left behind on the filtration media. The filtered fluid may flow through the central hollow cavity of the filter and out of the filtration system.
There are several issues that may arise in the design and implementation of a convertible filtration system configured to accept both bag-type and cartridge filters. For instance, one of the issues that must be addressed in any filtration system design is the prevention of contaminants from being reintroduced into a filtered fluid. This issue is particularly prevalent in filtration systems that utilize removable filters or that process high-pressure flows. In some systems, the process of converting from a cartridge filter to a bag-type filter and vice-versa may require significant time, effort and expense to perform. Thus, there is a need in the art for a convertible filtration system that prevents contamination of filtered fluids while at the same time provides a simple method for converting from a bag-type filtration system to a cartridge filtration system, and vice-versa.